Butler University Chapter of the John Weidner Foundation for
Altruism
April 30, 2006
The Butler Student Sociology Association (SSA) has established a
University Chapter of the John Weidner Foundation for Altruism.
John Weidner was a Dutchman living in France when the Germans
invaded in 1940. Over the next five years, with the help of up to
300 like-minded compatriots, he helped about 1,000 people escape
the Germans into safety in Switzerland and Spain. The escapees
included American and British downed airmen, Jewish refugees, and
Dutch, Belgian, Polish and French citizens fleeing the Germans.
John was honored at the end of the War by the Governments of
Holland, the United States, Britain, Israel and France. He was also
honored at the opening of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.,
in 1993.
John died in 1994 in California where he had lived for many
years. His widow, Naomi, created a foundation to honor John's
altruistic work. I am a Board member of the Foundation and have
sought to create a Butler Chapter through the Association because a
staple of Sociology and students who study it is altruism.
The students have chosen to make an annual award to a person, or
persons or to an organization to honor their altruistic activities
during the year. They desire to make this award at the annual Alpha
Kappa Delta banquet when other Sociology Department awards are
made. In order to accomplish this the Association intends to:
- circulate nomination forms
- place information on the Sociology Department web site
- seek to place articles in the Collegian
- post information on bulletin boards
- word of mouth
The Award: At the annual Alpha Kappa Delta
banquet the Association intends to present a letter, plaque, or
item of memorabilia to the honored person or group with appropriate
publicity. The selection of this recipient will be made by the
Association, its faculty representative and reviewed by the
Chairman of the Department as he or she sees fit. The modest cost
of this effort can be paid from the annual budget of the
Association as provided by the Student Government Association.
The Scholarship: The Association members have
decided to raise money for an endowed scholarship. Consultation
with Chris Carlson, Director of Donor Relations and Development
Communications, disclosed that the minimum amount required for an
endowed scholarship is $25,000. However, she said, starting with a
lesser amount is an acceptable method of raising the $25,000. Once
that amount is raised, the nominees for the scholarship are
presented to the Scholarship awards personnel (the scholarship
nominee can be selected in the same manner as the award nominee) in
priority order, and the scholarship is awarded. One exception to a
scholarship award can occur if the person being honored has
received so many scholarships that they total more than the cost of
school.
Together with the Association members we are opening an
endowment account for a John Weidner Scholarship. The possible
benefits to the student members of the Association, to the
department in its ability to attract students and reinforce the
purposes of Sociology, to the department in maintaining contact
with its graduates, and to the university are substantial. There
are very, very few endowed scholarships at Butler which are
supported by contributions from current students and faculty, and
the students who actively support this effort now will undoubtedly
continue to support it as graduates.
- William Ervin